Edinburgh Fringe · @ComedyReviewer
10th Aug 2017 from TwitLonger
Jo Caulfield: Older. Wiser. Smarter. Meaner #edfringe review #edinburgh
It's so refreshing to see straightforward stand up done so superbly well. Jo has the crowd eating from the palm of her hand within the first few minutes and the audience were loving every minute of it.
The atmosphere is red-hot, people are freely contributing and chatting back with Jo as she works the room. Jo spends the opening sequence building her back story, explaining to the crowd that she's now one of them since she married a Scotsman and moved to Edinburgh. It's a smart move; the audience lap it up. It feels as if the whole room are on side as she sweeps around, interacting with members of the audience.
Relationships is the hot topic and the highlight for me was when she would take the first names of couples and go on to make sweeping generalisations about them to great comic effect.
It was very much club style, get-to-know-me-and-I'll-get-to-know-you comedy, but with a swagger. It was a masterclass in how to work a room and, because of this, my respect for her has gone up somewhat.
There is no strong theme here, just have fun, give it a try or "one in the bum, no harm done" as she likes to say.
ComedyReviewer 8/10
Edfringe 4 Stars ****